The magical chorus : a history of Russian culture from Tolstoy to Solzhenitsyn, Solomon Volkov ; translated from the Russian by Antonina W. Bouis

From the reign of Tsar Nicholas II to the brutal cult of Stalin to the ebullient, uncertain days of perestroika, nowhere has the inextricable relationship between politics and culture been more starkly illustrated than in twentieth-century Russia. In the first book to fully examine the intricate and often deadly interconnection between Russian rulers and Russian artists, cultural historian Solomon Volkov (who experienced firsthand many of the events he describes) brings to life the human stories behind some of the greatest masterpieces of our time

From the reign of Tsar Nicholas II to the brutal cult of Stalin to the ebullient, uncertain days of perestroika, nowhere has the inextricable relationship between politics and culture been more starkly illustrated than in twentieth-century Russia. In the first book to fully examine the intricate and often deadly interconnection between Russian rulers and Russian artists, cultural historian Solomon Volkov (who experienced firsthand many of the events he describes) brings to life the human stories behind some of the greatest masterpieces of our time

A cultural history of Russia that ranges from the reign of Tsar Nicholas II to perestroika examines the complex interconnection between Russian rulers and artists as exemplified by the stories behind the great masterpieces of luminaries in the fields of art, music, literature, theater, cinema and dance